CHAPTER 3. RECALL OF LOCAL OFFICERS: INTERMEDIATE STEPS IN THE RECALL (4162)(1-click HTML)

11200. This chapter shall apply to the recall of local officers. (4164)

11201. When the city or county elections official is the officer sought to be recalled, the duties imposed upon him or her shall be performed by some other person designated by the governing board. (4165)

11220. (a) A recall petition shall be submitted to the elections official for filing in his or her office during normal office hours as posted within the following number of days after the clerk or, in the case of a recall of a state officer, the Secretary of State, notifies the proponents that the form and wording of the petition meets the requirements of Article 3 (commencing with Section 11040) of Chapter 1: (4167)

(1) Forty days if the electoral jurisdiction has less than 1,000 registered voters. (4168)

(2) Sixty days if the electoral jurisdiction has less than 5,000 registered voters but at least 1,000. (4169)

(3) Ninety days if the electoral jurisdiction has less than 10,000 registered voters but at least 5,000. (4170)

(4) One hundred twenty days if the electoral jurisdiction has less than 50,000 registered voters but at least 10,000. (4171)

(5) One hundred sixty days if the electoral jurisdiction has 50,000 registered voters or more. (4172)

(b) For purposes of this section, the number of registered voters shall be that which was reported at the last report of registration by the county elections official to the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 2187 and prior to a finding of the elections official or Secretary of State that no alterations are required in the form of the recall petition pursuant to Section 11042. (4173)

11221. The number of qualified signatures required in order to qualify a recall for the ballot shall be as follows: (4174)

(a) In the case of an officer of a city, county, school district, community college district, county board of education, or resident voting district, the number of signatures shall be equal in number to not less than the following percent of the registered voters in the electoral jurisdiction: (4175)

(1) Thirty percent if the registration is less than 1,000. (4176)

(2) Twenty-five percent if the registration is less than 10,000 but at least 1,000. (4177)

(3) Twenty percent if the registration is less than 50,000 but at least 10,000. (4178)

(4) Fifteen percent if the registration is less than 100,000 but at least 50,000. (4179)

(5) Ten percent if the registration is 100,000 or above. (4180)

(b) For purposes of this section, the number of registered voters shall be calculated as of the time of the last report of registration by the county elections official to the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 2187, and prior to the finding by the elections official or Secretary of State that no alterations are required in the form of the recall petition pursuant to Section 11042. (4181)

(c) (1) In the case of a state officer, including judges of courts of appeal and trial courts, the number of signatures shall be as provided for in subdivision (b) of Section 14 of Article II of the California Constitution. In the case of a judge of a superior court, which office has never appeared on the ballot since its creation, or did not appear on the ballot at its last election pursuant to Section 8203, the number of signatures shall be as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 14 of Article II of the California Constitution, except that the percentage shall be based on the number of votes cast within the judicial jurisdiction for the countywide office which had the least number of votes in the most recent general election in the county in which the judge holds his or her office. (4182)

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, "countywide office" means an elective office wholly within the county which is voted on throughout the county. (4183)

(d) In the case of a landowner voting district, signatures of voters owning at least 10 percent of the assessed value of land within the electoral jurisdiction of the officer sought to be recalled. (4184)

11222. (a) The petition shall be filed by the proponents, or by any person or persons authorized, in writing, by a proponent. All sections of the petition shall be filed at the same time. (4185)

(b) When the petition is presented for filing, the elections official shall determine the total number of signatures affixed to the petition. If, from this examination, the elections official determines that the number of signatures, prima facie, equals or is in excess of the minimum number of signatures required, the elections official shall accept the petition for filing. The petition shall be deemed as filed on that date. Any sections of the petition not so filed shall be void for all purposes. If, from the elections official' s examination, the elections official determines that the number of signatures, prima facie, does not equal or exceed the minimum number of signatures required, the petition shall not be filed. Any petition not accepted for filing shall be returned to the proponents. (4186)

11223. If the petition was circulated in more than one county, the elections official of each county shall affix, with the certificate showing the results of his or her examination, the number of registered voters of the county residing within the electoral jurisdiction of the officer sought to be recalled. (4187)

11224. (a) Except as provided in Section 11225, within 30 days from the date of filing of the petition, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, the elections official shall examine the petition, and from the records of registration, ascertain whether or not the petition is signed by the requisite number of voters. If the elections official's examination shows that the number of valid signatures is greater than the required number, the elections official shall certify the petition to be sufficient. If the number of valid signatures is less than the required number, the elections official shall certify the petition to be insufficient. (4188)

(b) In determining the number of valid signatures, the elections official may use the duplicate file of affidavits maintained, or may check the signatures against facsimiles of voters' signatures, provided that the method of preparing and displaying the facsimiles complies with law. (4189)

(c) The elections official shall attach to the petition a certificate showing the result of this examination, and shall notify the proponents of either the sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition. (4190)

(d) If the petition is found sufficient, the elections official shall certify the results of the examination to the governing board at its next regular meeting. (4191)

11225. (a) Within 30 days from the date of filing of the petition, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, if, from the examination of petitions pursuant to Section 11222, more than 500 signatures have been signed on the petition, the elections official may use a random sampling technique for verification of signatures. The random sample of signatures to be verified shall be drawn in a manner so that every signature filed with the elections official shall have an equal opportunity to be included in the sample. The random sampling shall include an examination of at least 500 or 5 percent of the signatures, whichever is greater. (4192)

(b) If the statistical sampling shows that the number of valid signatures is greater than 110 percent of the required number, the elections official shall certify the petition to be sufficient. (4193)

(c) If the statistical sampling shows that the number of valid signatures is within 90 to 110 percent of the number of signatures of qualified voters needed to declare the petition sufficient, the elections official shall examine and verify each signature filed. If the elections official's examination of each signature shows that the number of valid signatures is greater than the required number, the elections official shall certify the petition to be sufficient. If the number of valid signatures is less than the required number, the elections official shall certify the petition to be insufficient. (4194)

(d) If the statistical sampling shows that the number of valid signatures is less than 90 percent of the required number, the elections official shall certify the petition to be insufficient. (4195)

(e) In determining from the records of registration the number of valid signatures signed on the petition, the elections official may use the duplicate file of affidavits maintained, or may check the signatures against facsimiles of voters' signatures, provided that the method of preparing and displaying the facsimiles complies with law. (4196)

(f) The elections official shall attach to the petition, a certificate showing the result of this examination, and shall notify the proponents of either the sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition. (4197)

(g) If the petition is found insufficient, no action shall be taken on the petition. However, the failure to secure sufficient signatures shall not preclude the filing later of an entirely new petition to the same effect. (4198)

(h) If the petition is found to be sufficient, the elections official shall certify the results of the examination to the governing body at its next regular meeting. (4199)

11226. If the certificate shows that the petition is insufficient, no action shall be taken on it, but the petition shall remain on file. (4200)

11227. If the elections official finds the signatures on the petition to be sufficient, he or she shall submit his or her certificate as to the sufficiency of the petition to the governing body at its next regular meeting. The certificate shall contain: (4201)

11240. Within 14 days after the meeting at which the governing body received the certificate of sufficiency as specified in Section 11227, the governing body shall issue an order stating that an election shall be held pursuant to this article to determine whether or not the officer named in the petition shall be recalled. (4209)

11241. If the governing board fails to issue the order within the time specified in Section 11240, the county elections official, within five days, shall set the date for holding the election. If the recall is to be voted on by voters in more than one county, the elections official of the county with the largest number of registered voters who will be voting in the election shall set the date for holding the election in consultation with the elections officials of the other counties. (4210)

11242. The election shall be held not less than 88, nor more than 125, days after the issuance of the order, and if a regular or special election is to be held throughout the electoral jurisdiction of the officer sought to be recalled within this time period, the recall election shall be held on the same day, and consolidated with, the regular or special election. (4211)

Our MissionObjective

Our mission is to provide citizens free access to the laws and codes of their state utilizing a unique search engine that matches clients with qualified legal professionals who can help with specific issues.

Our goal is to do this in a manner that promotes open government and freedom of information, while providing attorneys with valuable tools to connect with qualified prospects in need of professional services.

Ignorance Is No ExcuseYour Right To Know The Law

All citizens have a right to have access to the laws that govern them. Citizen awareness and participation in government is fundamental to ensuring a sound democracy.

Although unfettered access to the law is a fundamental right to all citizens, there is no substitute for experienced legal counsel.

We do not recommend self-representation. We do, however, recognize that in an age where people routinely research legal matters online using everything from a smartphone to their xbox, both attorneys and clients alike can benefit from this resource.

The California laws: Election Code is provided as an informational service only.No-one associated with this website is an attorney and no attorney is entering into any kind of attorney-client relationship with you.Although the publishers of this website update this information regularly the California law published here may not be complete or accurate.Content of the California laws is in the public domain. All other intellectual property including but not limited toprogramming, HTML, indexing and presentation is copyright (C) 1995-2017 Easy Law Lookup * All Rights Reserved.Use of this website is subject to Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.